New Desire Ministries

Who Do You Say That He Is?

10/23/2017

In Matthew 16, Jesus is having a conversation about His identity with His disciples. He asked them in verse 13, "Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am?"They answered Him with such answers as John the Baptist, Elias (Elijah), Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He then turns the question around and asks, "But whom say ye that I am?" And Peter immediately answered and said "Thou art the Christ (the Savior of the World is what it means in the Greek), the Son of the Living God." I love what that adjective living means in the Greek here. It means to exist, in an absolute sense (so there's no question it's positive and perfect) and without end, to live forever- spoken of God. So Peter is declaring You, Jesus, are the Savior of the world, the Son of the God who is, always was, and always will be, the eternal God! What an answer! Peter knows, recognizes, identifies, and declares exactly who Jesus is not just to him but to the world. He answered Jesus' question and he got it right.
Getting this question right is the essence of salvation and is also the starting point for a lifelong journey. You are saved when you come to know and believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior ( Romans 10:9-10) but that is only the beginning of your relationship with Him.
As Peter correctly identified and recognized who Jesus was, Jesus in turn praises and identifies who Peter is when He says in verse 17-18, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar–jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
He is basically saying to Peter, "You are favored Simon, because man did not tell you that but God revealed and communicated that to you!" He then changes his name and identity to his new name and nature; just as he did with so many in the Bible like: Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, Jacob to Israel, and Saul to Paul to name a few. Now Jesus isn't saying Peter is the rock, but Peter's answer of who Jesus is, is the foundation or rock that the church would be built on. He wanted Peter to remember that his new identity, like ours as Christians, is in Jesus!
So today, who do you say Jesus is? Who is He to you? Is He your savior today? Do you know Him personally and have a relationship with Him? If not He longs to have a relationship with you because He loves you. And I would be honored to talk more with you about it!

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Keep Going

8/9/2017

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Matthew 28:19-20 "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."

I love this passage of scripture. Maybe because I was raised in a home that was very mission and evangelism minded so it seems to be ingrained in my heart and mind. But, I truly fell in love with it when I really learned what it meant.
The word go in the Greek simply means to travel, depart, journey, or go. That's pretty self explanatory. I however, decided to look the word go up in the dictionary and I love what it means. First it means to move or proceed, especially to or from something; next it's to leave a place or depart; lastly, and maybe my favorite meaning, is to keep or be in motion; function or perform as required! We are commanded to go in the scripture but this go isn't just a go one time, we are to be (which is continual) in motion in order to function as required! Does that make sense to anyone else? Do you want to function the way God wants you to function, the way He requires you to function? If so, you should GO! That is what He commands after all, that we Go and teach all nations.
Teach here means to disciple and instruct. It is our responsibility as Christians to disciple and instruct those around us, wherever we are, in the Lord's ways which are found in His Word! We are to tutor and advise them in all the things God has commanded us, which includes baptism. But the absolute greatest part is that we don't have to be afraid to Go and make disciples, to teach others the Word, to travel to foreign lands, to minister to the lost, ect...because God is with us ALWAYS even unto the completion of the world! I know this may seem like something that is said a lot but I just want to encourage you all to Go whether it's to your next door neighbor, down the street, in your community, on your job, or around the world; go and tell others about The Lord! You're not alone He is always with you!

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I have a love problem

2/14/2017

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John 14:15 "If ye love Me, keep My commandments."

In this season of love with Valentine's day being yesterday, I have a confession to make: I have a love problem. It's true and I admit it. I know that phrase got a lot of your attention and now out of pure nosiness you are going to read this just to find out what is "wrong with me" or "why I would say such a thing" and that is ok. I will give a little disclaimer here, my Mom came to the office several years ago and led a devotion with us girls which was about obedience and that if you don't obey you have a love problem. Well, that resonated with not just me but all of us as a staff and it is something we often quote to one another. In light of Valentine's Day I began looking up verses about love and the verse at the beginning just kept popping up and jumping out at me. "IF ye love Me, keep My commandments." I don't know how much you might know about the original Greek meaning here or how much you may know about the English language but, if is a conditional particle in the original Greek. It denotes uncertainty and indefiniteness. In the English it is used as a conjunction and as a noun and they are both conditional. The definition of if is: a supposition or uncertain possibility; a condition, requirement, or stipulation; presumption; introducing a hypothetical situation. So Jesus is saying to His disciples (and you and I) here, "IF, or presuming you love Me, which is an uncertain possibility, keep my commandments." It is conditional. If we love Him we will keep or fulfill His commands. Well, that got me thinking...Do I keep His commandments? Not just the ten He gave to Moses in the Old Testament but, ALL of His commands?
This is obviously of great importance to the Lord because He basically tells us the same thing over in 1 John chapter 5 verse 2 which says, " By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments." Actually this verse has the same meanings in the original Greek as the previous verse. The love here is phileo which means: to have affection for, be a friend to or fond of, as a matter of sentiment or feeling, deliberate approval of the will. This is the type of love we as humans have or should have for one another but this is also the type of love Jesus is questioning in John 14:15 when He says, "If ye love me keep my commandments." This type of love is a decision, hints the definition "a deliberate approval of the will." We must choose deliberately to love God and keep His commands and therefore love others. We know we love the children of God when we choose to love God above all else and obey what He says! It goes on to say in verse 3 of 1 John chapter 5 that "His commandments are not grievous (weighty or burdensome)." He doesn't ask us to do something far reaching or that is a HUGE burden to us; He simply asks us to love Him and obey Him. Now sometimes I make it seem like it's a burden but, in the grand scheme of things obedience is really quite simple, you do what He says, when He says it. Is it always easy to our flesh? No. But, it is so worth it in our spiritual life.
If you're like me, you may have noticed that John said, and I'm paraphrasing, we know we love others when we love God and do what He says. That made me think, He said that here in first John because Jesus had already given the command in John 13:34-35 which says, "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another." So here we have a command to love others as Christ has loved us (He also gives this same command over in John 15:12) and we know that He loved us with an everlasting love as Jeremiah describes it. A love that is endless. A sacrificial love, where He came to serve and not be served and He ultimately laid down His life to pay the penalty for our sin and there is no greater love than that (John 15:13). That is how He is commanding us to choose to love others, and not just people we like but, ALL people. People who may have done you wrong or who you may have done wrong and now they don't like you. People who are different than you, whether physically, or maybe they were raised different, have different values and religious beliefs. Jesus Himself tells us to love them as He has loved us! Well, I can already tell you that is not how I always love others. More often than not if I don't like someone for whatever reason I have a hard time being kind to them, and that is not love because 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that Love is Kind. It also tells us that love is patient and if you are on my last nerve, I have a hard time being patient, therefore I am not loving. I could go on and on but, you get the picture. I have to work on this. I don't think that all men are knowing I am Christ's disciple!
   As I was studying all of these verses on love and being commanded to love and obeying God shows our love for Him; I began to notice that most of these verses, and all of them I used, are written by John. Now this comes as no surprise to me because John is the Beloved disciple. He was Jesus' best friend and intimately knew Him better than any of the other disciples. So, who better to write about our love for God and His love for us than one who experienced that love first hand? I will end with John 15: 10, "If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in His love." This one is a little different. Yes the keep my commandments is the same and means the same as the other verses but, it says if we obey (keep) His commands we will abide in His love. I love what abide means here which is: to remain, to dwell, to continue in, and my personal favorite is to be present! If we obey Him we can be present in His love. We can exist in His agape love. We can be present at His love feast for us!
   Is obedience difficult sometimes? Absolutely. But look at where disobedience can get you...in the belly of a fish like Jonah. Under a juniper tree pouting like Elijah. Kicked out of the Garden of Eden like Adam and Eve. Turned into a pillar of salt like Lot's wife. 40 years wandering in the desert like the Israelites. Or you can choose obedience and live in love and be the Father of many nations like Abraham. Be saved from the great flood like Noah. Have the walls of Jericho crumble before you like Joshua. You may see your people saved from death like Esther. Or, see the Savior after years of faithfulness like Anna. But the choice is mine and yours. Choose you this day whom you will serve. Will you be a slave to disobedience or will you choose love? Will you keep God's commandments and show your love for Him? Or will you ignore His will and go your own way? So many times we here the saying "all we need is love. Or the answer is love". How true that is in this case.
   I pray that I will continue to choose to love Him first and love others as He loves me and that I will obey all He command of me. I pray the same for you too friends. Love. Love always, even when it is uncomfortable. Be patient, be kind. Don't envy or boast. Do not be proud. Do not behave unbecoming of a child of God. Don't be self seeking or easily angered. Think no evil. Do not rejoice in injustice but rejoice in the Truth. Bear all things. Have faith in all things. Hope in all things. And persevere and endure in all things because LOVE NEVER FAILS! Obey God's commands and don't have a love problem. I am working on mine by choosing daily to love. Won't you do the same?

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Satisfaction in Christ Alone

11/21/2016

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Hebrews 13:5 "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
I've been hearing this verse over and over in the last week, so I assume, as usual, that God is trying to tell me something. So I decided I would study up on this verse. I started by reading the full chapter of Hebrews 13 so that I could understand the context in which this verse is placed. Basically most of the chapter is about our social and religious duties, the writer addresses things such as being hospitable to strangers, suffering along with fellow believers, and the goodness of marriage and the judgment of God for adulterers in the first 4 verses. Then we get to verse 5: "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
So what is this verse saying to me (us)? To know that fully I had to break it down, word for word, phrase for phrase. Let your conversation: now this isn't just talking about you speaking to and conversing with others: it means your character, behavior and conduct. In other words, the way people view you, and how you present yourself, your very being and lifestyle should be without covetousness.
Without covetousness when translated probably means what you think it does: not greedy or without filthy lucre (gain in money or goods, profit). The writer is telling us here that our lifestyle should be without greed or seeking what we can profit, but to be content with such things as ye have.
Oh that word content, I hear it so often yet what does it really mean? Webster's dictionary defines it as: having the desires limited to that which one has; satisfied; to appease or gratify fully the desires of; and leave nothing to be desired. Wow! In other words, this is saying be fully and completely satisfied with what I have. He goes on to say why I can be satisfied and it's because He (God) has said, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." This is a promise for me, and you if you're a child of God. God, the creator of the universe, the Lover of my soul is saying, "be satisfied in Me because I will never desert you, I will not abandon you, or quit on you, or leave you entirely. I will always be here! Others may leave you, turn their backs on you, cast you aside, or leave you stranded but, I am with you always. I choose you." What more could we want? You need a friend? Jesus is the answer, He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). You need provision, whether bills paid, food on your table, or some other need? He is Jehovah Jireh, and just as He provided for Abraham He will provide for you (Genesis 22:14). Have you lost a loved one? He is the Comforter (John 14:16) and He's there to comfort you! Are you sick? He is the Healer and He is there. Lonely? He's there, He will NEVER leave us! We can be satisfied completely in Christ, because He is enough. He is the ONLY thing that can satisfy.
I'm so grateful that I serve a God who is ever present. A risen and living Savior who is Emmanuel, God with me! I, like Paul in Philippians 4:11, am learning to be content in whatsoever state I am in. What an awesome point to come to in your life to be completely content or satisfied in Jesus. I'm not saying I always have that attitude becausetrust me, I don't. But, I am striving for it. I want my life (conversation) to be completely, 100 percent satisfied and content in Christ! As I looked up the definition of satisfy in Webster's,I truly realized that Jesus is the only thing in my life that completely satisfies or: fulfills the desires, expectations or needs that I have. He is the ONLY thing that puts an end to my wants and needs, by sufficient or ample provision. He gives me assurance and answers all my questions sufficiently, He solves and dispels all my doubts, and His sacrifice on Calvary fully paid my debt. How satisfying my Lord is! I just love Him!
Psalm 73:25-26 says, " Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever."
I have God. He is for me. Other things and people will let me down, but God is always there for me! God is saying to me, "I will be your portion. I'm all you need." Chip Ingram said, "It might be nice to have God plus a great job, or God plus this or that; but all you ever need to satisfy you is God. He will be your portion. He will be everything you need. He will never let you down."
I pray that I get to a point where I completely realize this truth that He is all I need. I pray that I will be able to proclaim the lofty words the psalmist spoke here, "there is none upon the earth I desire beside Thee." If I'm being honest I'm not fully there yet, I catch myself yearning for things of this world at times, but I am striving to reach that point where I am so completely content and satisfied in the Lord that there is nothing in this world that I desire more than Him! I earnestly pray that each of you will get to that point as well. Satisfaction is not found in a great job, a big house, a nice car, trips around the world, your family, your friends, or a significant other. Complete, whole, true satisfaction is found in Jesus and Him alone.
I leave you with the words to a song by the Kingsmen titled He's All I Need:
He's all I need when I just need someone to talk to,
He's always there to hear my prayer each time I call him;
All my needs He supplies, my thirsty soul He satisfies,
He's the Lord of Lords, He's all I need.

He comforts me when I'm weary and eases every pain,
Fills my deepest longing time and time again;
He's my soul's inspiration, my heart's consolation,
He's my everything, He's all I need.

He's all I need, I need not turn to any other,
For He's a friend I can depend closer than a brother;
On this friend I can rely to be my strength as life goes by,
He's the Lord of all, He's all I need.

He comforts me when I'm weary and eases every pain,
Fills my deepest longing time and time again;
He's my soul's inspiration, my heart's consolation,
He's my everything, He's all I need.

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Think On These Things

9/13/2016

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Jessica Guinn

Philippians 4:8-9, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things which year have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”

Our world is consumed with a cancer known as negativity. Negativity is derived from its root word negative which can be defined as “harmful or bad; thinking about the bad qualities of someone or something; thinking that a bad result will happen; not hopeful or optimistic; expressing dislike or disapproval.”

Does this sound familiar to anyone? If not, take a moment to turn on the news channel of your choice, visit a doctor’s office, or phone a friend and ask them how their day is going. Negativity is all around us, and it spreads like the common cold.

I get it—life is hard. As a matter of fact, the Bible told us that it would be. We are told that we will face persecution, judgments, and suffering on more than one occasion. Nevertheless, the pages of God’s Word continually tell us to stand fast, withstand, stand strong in the Lord, and persevere.

Lately God has been stressing to me the importance of renewing and transforming my mind through the Word. The more we focus on the gloom and doom of the world around us, the easier it is to lose the joy of our salvation. Nehemiah 8:10b says, “…for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” The word strength in this passage means, “Defense.” The joy that comes from Jesus Christ is our defense against negativity, worry, and pessimism.

The Apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians that no matter what we are going through, we can combat our stinking thinking! He lists several things for us to think on in chapter 4 verse 8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” To paraphrase, Paul is saying here, “Don’t listen to and believe the lies of the enemy. Instead look for truth, look for righteousness, and look for my hand in all situations. Think on these things. Speak on these things. Share these things.”

Let me be clear—this is not a positive, prosperity Gospel; however, when we change our thinking to be more like Him, eventually our speech will be more like Him. “…and the God of peace shall be with you.”

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Who Do You Say That He Is?

Keep Going

I have a love problem

Satisfaction in Christ Alone

Think On These Things

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